Building dams.



0. WARTEMANN.

Patented Mar. 30, 191.5.

OSKAR WARTEMANN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BUILDING DAMS.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, OsKAR WARTEMANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, College Point, in the county of: Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Building Dams, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in building dams in running streams of water and the object of my invention is to devise a new and improved method of building such dams in an economical manner without diverting the entire stream.

In the accompanying drawings in which like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the` figures :-Figure l is a plan view showing part of a stream and one half of the dam constructed according to my new and improved method. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the means -for constructing the other half of the dam. .Y

The dam may be made of reinforced concrete, masonry, brick, wood or any other suitable material. For the purpose of building a dam, I lirst erect a coffer dam 1, preferably composed of spiles 2, driven into the river bottom and provided with two covering layers 3 of planksV and if necessary provided with an intermediate plank layer 4 and fill in the space with gravel or a mixture of gravel and cement. This coier dam 1 begins at one shore ofthe stream and extends down stream at an angle of about 45 degrees substantially to the center of the f stream at a point on a line transversely to the stream at the up stream face of the proposed dam. The land end of the coder dam will thus be a certain distance up stream from the location of the permanent dam. At the inner or stream end of the Colfer dam which as stated is approximately at the center of the stream, I construct a cofer dam 6 in the manner previously described, said coii'er dam 6 extending longitudinally down stream and being connected with the stream end of the coder dam 1. The central co'er dam 6 can extend down stream a greater or less distance, this depending of course to a greater or less extent upon the depth oi' the stream and the down grade of the bot tom of the stream. The water from above the coler dam flows oi through the space between the central dam 6 and the shore opposite the one with which the dam l is connected as the dam 6 is carried down Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

Application filed .Tuly 1, 1914. Serial N o. 848,509.

stream a considerable distance so that no water can back up the space bounded by the dams l and 6 and thus the shore from which the coffer dam l extends will be comparatively dry and if there are any low places the y .above defined space, foundations, trenches and so forth can be dug for the permanent transverse dam; Then the necessaryexcavations are made and a section 10 of thedam is built to extend from the shore or a greater orless distance in-shore to the center of the stream, that is to the longitudinalsection of the Colfer dam 6.

.This dam l0 may be made of concrete, re-

inforced concrete, stone, masonry, brick, or

any other suitable material as the circum`` stances lmay require. Embedded in said dam, are a Vseries of tubes l1 located at the bottom of the river or stream and leading from the up stream side of the dam to the down stream side and these tubes are each provided with a shut oi gate or valve 12 of any suitable construction or type. The combined area of the several tubes l1 is of such size as to be able to carry ofi' the normal 'low of water in the stream at the time that the dam is being constructed. After one half of the dam has been constructed in the manner described, the cofi'er dam is removed,fthe diagonal section 1 as well as the longitudinal section 6. Then a similar dam 13 is built from the opposite shore toward the free end of the completed dam, also at an angle of about 45 degrees down stream. This-dam 13 extends a greater or less distance from the proposed dam, up stream, diagonally toward the free end of the completed section of the dam and meets the completed dam section l0 a short distance from the free end of the same. On the down stream side of the completed section of the dam, a longitudinal coer dam 14 is constructed from the free end of the completed section of the dam down stream. The gates 12 of the tubes 11 are then all opened so that all the water in the stream can flow through the tubes 1l, thus relieving the coffer dams to a very great extent and the space between the coier dams and the shore is now dry and the dam is completed in this space to the other shore as shown in the drawings and after the dam has been fully completed, the coifer dam sections 13 and 14 are removed. In case the water is to be impounded, the gates l2 of the tubes 11 are closed so the water is pumped out so that inV that the watercan risevin the basin formed at the up stream side of the dam until it flows over the top of the dam, but if suchoverflow is not desired, the gates 12 and1 8 can be opened in the usual way.

In mountain streams, having rocky shores,v

it is too eXpensive'to divert the stream for the purpose of building a dam, as the-curV rent of these streams even inlrso-called dry seasons, when the quantityV of water `isvery small, is so great as to render it absolutely impossible to construct a foundation for theY dam under water andftherefore-it is `neces- Y sary that the water shall be excluded entirely from the site of the dam. Furthermore when one half of the dam is lcompleted an outiow for the water from above the dam must be provided as otherwise the remaining half of the bed could not be put in'condition forbuilding the foundation of the dam and the ystructure of the damitself.- Inorderfto prevent undue accumulation of water on the up stream side of the dam andmethod of course is tov be employed inf 4'streams having considerable declivity as compared with sluggish streams Vas otherwise the water would be apt to rush in behind the dam 6 and that of course would defeat the very object of my invention.

I am aware that dams have been provided with the relief valves and I am also aware that Colfer dams have been used-inthe construction of permanent dams.

Having described my invention what I Genies of this patent may lbe obtained for ve cents. each, by addressing theiommissioner of ilratents, i

Patent is Y Theherein described method of constructing a dam across a water way consisting in rst constructing a longitudinal coffer dam inthestream between the shores andconnectingit'with a Colfer dam extendingfrom Lone end:- ofithe longitudinal coffer dam up stream to one shore at an angle of about l5 degrees thereby forming well which is.

boundedby one shore,4 the diagonal-part of the cofferdam andthe longitudinal part of thecoffer dam and is open down stream7 erecting a dam lwithin the*'spacethusfbound-fed by the coiferi 'dams'- and shore, providing 'outlet tubes in the `dam -thuszformed directly above the bed of the stream, removing the diagonal coifery dam section, Yconstructing; a Colfer danifronithe free end of thevcompleted half of thefdamup stream at anangle i claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters ofabout 45 degreesto the shore opposite the i Y one to whichl the first linclined cotfer dam;

section extended, erecting a coffer dam from the down stream side of the completed sectioniof the permanent dam at the free end of said dam, which coffer dam section eX- tends down stream thus forming a space bounded by the last twomentioned coffer dams and a shore, vwhichv space` is open at.

Queens land State .of New York this 16th day of February A. D: 1914.

- lVitnesses: Y

GEORGE BRUEHL, HERMAN HETTLING.

Washington, D. G,

Signed at College. Point, in the county of.-

osKAn WARTEMANN. Y 

